The BODY SMART Blog

Five Easy Ways to Give Your Kids an Active Start

22nd September, 2010 - Posted by - 5 Comments

photo credit: Jenny Lee Silver

As parents, we intuitively know the importance of helping our pre-schoolers develop the skills they’ll need later in life. We teach them their ABCs and their 123s. We teach them to share, to dress themselves, to tie their shoes.  But research shows that many of us aren’t paying enough attention to helping our toddlers and pre-schoolers develop the skills they’ll need to be active for life.

 In its 2010 Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth, Active Healthy Kids Canada (AHKC) reports that only 36% of 2-3 year olds and 44% of 4-5 year-olds regularly engage in unorganized sport and physical activity each week. That’s a far cry from the minimum two hours a day experts recommend for kids under 6.

There’s no lack of evidence that our kids are increasingly at risk of obesity and disease due to poor nutrition and inactivity. But here’s the good news:  You don’t have to be a superhero to make physical activity the easy choice for the kids in your life. Even small changes can make a big difference. At Saskatchewan in motion we’ve identified five easy ways you can give the kids in your life an active start.

1. Be an active role model – Monkey see, monkey do. Active parents are more likely to have active kids and it’s never too early to start.  So what are you waiting for? Walk the talk – literally!
2. Reduce screen time – If you’re like me, you don’t need the experts to tell you your kids spend too much time in front of a screen. According to AHKC, more than 90% of kids start watching TV before they’re 2, despite recommendations against any screen time for children under 2.  Try replacing 30 minutes of screen time with active play each day.
3. Walk them to school – My family used to live a block from my boys’ school. They walked rain, shine or blizzard. It always amazed me (maybe dismay is a better word) that many kids who lived just a block or two further up the street were driven to school every day.   Walking to and from school is an easy, low-cost way to build physical activity into every day. It builds confidence, reduces traffic congestion and creates safer, calmer streets around schools.
4. Speak out for an active school – When I was a kid we spent every recess playing games on the playground and had access to every kind of sports equipment available (Yes, even baseball bats!). Sadly, for a bunch of reasons, even recess isn’t a given these days. If your little ones are heading off to school this fall, make sure you know what’s policy – and practice – at your school.  The National Association of Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) recommends 120 minutes of physical activity every day, and for preschoolers that means active play. Naturally, this won’t all take place during the school day, but a good chunk of it should. Speak out if that’s not happening for your kids.
5. Volunteer – Our kids can’t do it alone. Volunteer to coach a sport or help organize activities in your community or neighbourhood.  And remember, the goal at this age is not to turn your youngster into a professional, but to have fun while building basic skills.

Although the statistics paint a depressing picture, the reality is you can make a difference.  Just do one thing to make sure the kids in your life have what they need to get an active start at home, at school or day care, and in the community. Need help getting started today? For ideas and inspiration visit www.jumpin.ca.

How do you make physical activity the easy choice for the kids in your life?

Blogger Bio: Kim Herperger is a writer and communication consultant who works with Saskatchewan in motion, an organization that inspires, galvanizes, and connects a provincial movement of influencers and mobilizers to increase physical activity opportunities for children and youth. Kim loves spending time outside and when she’s not watching her boys play football, she can often be found at the other end of a leash attached to a rather large yellow lab named Buzz.

5 Comments

Debi

September 22nd, 2010 at 4:03 pm    

We started walking home from school when school started last week & I’m now officially a convert. It’s such great medicine! We follow it up with an hour of free play outside before heading inside for homework.

Kim Herperger

September 22nd, 2010 at 7:33 pm    

Debi – Glad to hear you’re enjoying the walk to school. It really is such a simple way to get some activity into our kids lives. I really miss that time now that my kids are older.

hsbs

September 23rd, 2010 at 2:04 am    

Thanks for sharing the great post, Kim!

Tweets that mention Five Easy Ways to Give Your Kids an Active Start | The BODY SMART Blog -- Topsy.com

September 24th, 2010 at 9:51 am    

[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Bethe Almeras, Bethe Almeras, Wendy Gabriel, activekidsclub, Sanborn Camps and others. Sanborn Camps said: excellent tips! RT @balmeras: 5 Easy Ways to Give Your Kids an Active Start http://bit.ly/bhmeL3 #ECE #playoutdoors #parent [...]

Tweets that mention Five Easy Ways to Give Your Kids an Active Start | The BODY SMART Blog -- Topsy.com

September 24th, 2010 at 12:03 pm    

[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Bethe Almeras and Kim Herperger, HeadStartBodyStart. HeadStartBodyStart said: RT @Herperki: My guest blog post for @HSBS_Play is up. 5 easy ways to give your kids an active start http://bit.ly/bO9Mdd [...]

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